1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorbent article suitable for use with an undergarment that matches in color with the article, more particularly, relates to a colored absorbent article that is suitable for use as a panty liner and has an excellent concealability of vaginal discharge and an excellent visibility of menstrual blood.
2. Description of the Related Art
Absorbent articles to be attached to a crotch portion of a woman's undergarment include panty liners that are intended to mainly receive vaginal discharge, as well as sanitary napkins and incontinence pads. Conventional panty liners are intended to absorb a relatively large amount of vaginal discharge so that the vaginal discharge does not leak out of the liner, without giving an unpleasant feeling to the private parts or the skin surrounding the private parts.
In recent years, however, a growing number of users have chosen to wear panty liners even when an amount of vaginal discharge is relatively small. Such users do not wear panty liners for absorption of a large amount of vaginal discharge as in the convention use, but rather wear the liner for stain prevention of undergarments. That is, people who want to keep undergarments clean, take good care of undergarments, or dislike stain on undergarments have chosen to wear panty liners. These people do not wear panty liners as the conventional absorbent article, but mainly intend to use them as a substitute for a crotch portion of an undergarment or an exchangeable crotch portion of an undergarment. In woman's undergarment of late years, a brassiere and panties are integrally designed, and they are usually purchased as a two-piece set or a three-piece set together with a camisole or a slip. However, since the crotch portion of the panties stains easily, the panties, particularly the crotch portion thereof is often washed more carefully as compared with other undergarments or washed with a heavy duty detergent or a bleaching agent. Since the cloth of the panties may be easily exclusively damaged due to repetition of such washing as compared with other undergarments, not a few women purchase spare panties when they purchase undergarments as a two-piece set or a three-piece set. Panty liners are beneficial to such women as a substitute for a crotch portion of an undergarment or an exchangeable crotch portion of an undergarment. By using panty liners everyday, the crotch portion of the panties can be prevented from staining, so that such spare panties are no more required to purchase.
When panty liners are to be used as a substitute for a crotch portion of an undergarment or an exchangeable crotch portion of an undergarment, wearers consider whether or not panty liner is comfortable to wear and whether or not panty liner is felt as an integral part of undergarment, rather than absorbency that has been conventionally regarded as important. Therefore, lighter, thinner and smaller panty liners have become popular. Such panty liners to be used as a substitute for a crotch portion of an undergarment are usually white.
However, a lot of women who stick to undergarment or who take good care of undergarment choose undergarments according to the mood of the day or the schedule of the day (where she goes, who she dates, etc.). Such women regard color of undergarment as important when they choose undergarments. Therefore, a growing number of women have chosen to purchase and wear colored undergarments other than white ones.
Many women who regard color of undergarment as important and take good cure of undergarment have been dissatisfied with white panty liners as a substitute for a crotch portion. More specifically, they have been dissatisfied by the following reasons: an uninteresting, white panty liner has to be used for taking good care of a colored undergarment; only a crotch portion of a colored undergarment becomes white due to a white panty liner; a stain such as vaginal discharge or urine becomes noticeable on the surface of a white panty liner, and a white panty liner attached to a colored undergarment looks as if it is unsanitary because the liner is noticeable due to color difference between the undergarment and the liner and a stain adhered to the liner is also noticeable. In addition, if a white panty liner is attached to a colored undergarment and the colored undergarment is put on or taken off, the attached liner may possibly be noticed.
For example, Patent Publication EP1108406 discloses an absorbent article for such women. This absorbent article is a panty liner having an absorbent core between a topsheet for facing the wearer's skin and a backsheet for facing an undergarment, wherein the topsheet and the backsheet are manufacturered from materials of a dark color such as black. This dark panty liner is less noticeable when attached to a black undergarment. In addition, since the panty liner itself has a dark color, body fluids such as vaginal discharge, urine and menstrual blood, adhered thereto also become less noticeable.
Besides the absorbent article disclosed in the above-identified Publication, a panty liner which is colored green by adding catechin and a panty liner wherein a color given to an absorbent layer or a backsheet can be seen through a topsheet have been on sale, although they are not aimed at matching in color with an undergarment.
The absorbent article disclosed in Patent Publication EP1108405 has a color that matches with a black undergarment and has an effect of concealing body fluids (vaginal discharge, menstrual blood, urine) discharged from the private parts.
In the panty liner having a dark color such as black, body fluids adhered thereto are less noticeable. During a period other than menstruation, therefore, it has an effect of absorbing and concealing vaginal discharge to thereby prevent an undergarment from being stained. However, when a small amount of menstrual blood is adhered thereto immediately after the beginning of menstruation, the dark color may possibly conceal such menstrual blood. In this case, because a wearer cannot notice the beginning of menstruation immediately, she cannot replace the panty liner with a common sanitary napkin timely. As a result, a large amount of menstrual blood that exceeds absorption capacity of the thin panty liner may adhere to the wearer's private parts and surroundings to give her an unpleasant feeling. Furthermore, such menstrual blood may possibly leak out of the panty liner to adhere to not only the undergarment but also outerwear. That is, the panty liner that is intended to prevent the colored undergarment from being stained may lead to menstrual blood stains on the undergarment and the outerwear instead.
In order to prevent this situation, it is possible to increase the absorption capacity of body fluids. In this case, however, because the thickness, weight and area of the panty liner need be increased for increasing the absorption capacity, the panty liner comes to resemble a sanitary napkin or a conventional vaginal discharge absorbing liner. Such a thick, heavy and large panty liner is not suitable for use as a substitute for a crotch portion.
On the other hand, the panty liner colored in green or the like is limited to improvement in its own appearance by making the appearance of the panty liner pale, while concealability of body fluids is inferior because its body surface has a high value. Therefore, although a wearer can notice the beginning of menstruation in an early stage, vaginal discharge cannot be effectively concealed. In addition, since this panty liner is not aimed at matching in color with an undergarment, it is not suitable for use as a substitute for a crotch portion of colored panties.